Understanding the specialization process

[vampyrica]

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Hello…I know I’m jumping the gun and thinking about this four years into the future but I am having a difficult time understanding specializing and the process for doing so. I’ve been following along the VIRMP 2026 thread and eventually looked on the website to see what programs were offered this year. I’m seeing some internships require previous internships- what does that mean? What if your field of interest only has residencies; do you have to do an internship beforehand in something similar if there are no internship opportunities?

We’ll use some examples. I have interests in research, lab animal medicine, one health, and oncology. So I have a ways to go before I figure out my core interest and what I would like to specialize in. For any of these topics, would a “rotating” internship be the first step prior to a more specialized internship in those fields and then finally residency? In order to get one of those primary internships (is that the correct term? please lmk), are you supposed to be shadowing at your VTH and obtaining externships during veterinary school?

Is this process basically like gaining various experience for VMCAS but now it’s gaining specific experiences for VIRMP?

(Sorry if these are dumb questions. I’m trying to plan out my summer after my H5N1 internship is complete, so if starting with externships and shadowing is something I should keep on my radar, I’d love to start early now that I have the extra time!)
(PPS: if a thread like this already exists, please feel free to forward it my way, I just haven't been able to locate it)

 

[WildZoo]

Very , very generally - most clinical specialties will require some kind of post-graduate training before residency. The basic model is rotating internship --> +/-specialty internship --> residency. Of your stated interests, I believe oncology is the one that would follow this most closely. Not all specialties require internships at all, some don't require internships but most people end up doing them because of how competitive residency spots are. In some cases people often do a rotating and multiple specialty internships before matching for residency (hi zoo med). And then there's the fact that some specialties (hi again zoo med) don't require formal training programs at all, because they have an experiential pathway as well. I know lab animal med has training programs, but I don't know what their application requirements are or if it's required to go through one of those programs to be a certified lab animal vet. One Health and research are broad and as far as I know aren't recognized specialties, so that's going to be an entirely different topic.

Regardless of your interest, it is a good idea to get experience during vet school, and yes it's largely for the same reason that you get vet experience prior to vet school. It helps you figure out whether it's really the career you want, it helps you make connections and get mentorship and LORs, and it helps show the people evaluating your application later down the line that you've shown a sustained interest in the field. There is no specific "experience hours" portion of your VIRMP app but your CV should reflect exposure to your field of interest. That is less of a big deal for rotating internships than specialties and residency, and that's not to say people haven't been able to change gears later on and still gotten into their desired field.

For your specific areas of interest I would recommend seeking out clinicians who can teach you more about the pathway and give you more of the insider advice that people not in that field aren't going to be able to supply. AVMA also has a list of recognized specialties and links to their respective websites, which often have more info on the career pathway. This will tell you the requirements on paper, but again it would be best to talk to people in your field of interest to get a better idea of what the pathway looks like in reality.

https://www.avma.org/education/veterinary-specialties

 

[VIN-Foundation]

Not sure where you are located, but in the US, "specialty" means an American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) recognized specialty. Many state practice act specify you cannot use the term "specialist" unless you are board certified by an ABVS-recognized specialty.

So, Laboratory Animal Medicine and Oncology ... specialties. Research and One Health (whatever that means).... not specialties.

For Lab Animal and Oncology, you would need to do a residency and complete other requirements, such as submitting credentials and passing examinations. To get an Oncology residency, you will need to complete a rotating internship. For Lab Animal, a rotating internship is usually not required.

It looks like you are a veterinary student, so I wold start with talking to folks at your university. And let us know if you have specific questions.

​

 

[vampyrica]

Not sure where you are located, but in the US, "specialty" means an American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) recognized specialty. Many state practice act specify you cannot use the term "specialist" unless you are board certified by an ABVS-recognized specialty.

sorry i’m in the US but not familiar with these terms at all. thanks for clarifying.

but also this piqued my interest: are you unsure what One Health is?

 

[vampyrica]

This will tell you the requirements on paper, but again it would be best to talk to people in your field of interest to get a better idea of what the pathway looks like in reality.

https://www.avma.org/education/veterinary-specialties

thank you!

 

[vampyrica]

Oh to clarify- I wasn't saying research or one health = specialties! just stating some of my interests and what that might possibly lead to.

Thank you for helping clarify! That makes much more sense.

 

[JaynaAli]

WZ and VIN Foundation said it well, I just wanted to reiterate that there are huge differences between the different specialities. I think lab animal is one that often doesn’t require any internships at all. A competitive applicant there would likely be a fourth year student who has worked with the lab animal faculty at their school, done electives in lab animal med, etc. In contrast, oncology would much more frequently have people who have done a rotating, a specialty internship, and then residency. The specialty internship is optional, and often done to bide time for a position to open up for you or to reapply for residencies. For example, where I did my residency, it was very common for them to have an outstanding intern do a med onc specific internship for a year, and then after that they’d take them as a resident. But other interns might do a specialty internship because they didn’t match to a residency but they want to stay active in the field to try for residency again the next year.

And to further muddy the waters, oncology we classically think about would be medical oncology, but someone could also approach it by being a surgeon and doing a surgical oncology fellowship and basically just do cancer surgeries.

But you’ll get a lot of exposure to the specialties as a student and especially as a student on rotations. I had a classmate who was dead set on oncology day 1, said she loves cancer. Turned out, she actually loved the diagnostic process and diagnosing cancer, but the actual treatment part she didn’t like as much. Most pets show up to an oncologist with a diagnosis already, so she learned that she actually wanted to be an internal medicine specialist to get to do more diagnostic work up rather than an oncologist. This is where a school having a hospital is so beneficial for a student…you don’t have to set up a visit anywhere for an externship to get the exposure, just can probably show up at the hospital and ask if you can hang out at rounds time and listen in or something. You will likely not be told no. Maybe a ‘come back later when it’s less busy’, but probably not a no.

 

[vampyrica]

Maybe a ‘come back later when it’s less busy’, but probably not a no.

right- that makes sense! i’m not dead set on anything at the moment. i just know i like research, i like one health, i like lab animal medicine, and i like onco but that could all drastically change!

my thing is, i got an MPH for a reason. i’d be more interested (at this moment but again, that may change) working for places like NBAF, or for the USDA, or being a state vet etc. i suppose the next steps for that would be to just cold email people and ask their journey and how they got where they are?

i know i’m a ways away from any major life changing decision, and i’m in no rush to do so haha.

 

[JaynaAli]

right- that makes sense! i’m not dead set on anything at the moment. i just know i like research, i like one health, i like lab animal medicine, and i like onco but that could all drastically change!

my thing is, i got an MPH for a reason. i’d be more interested (at this moment but again, that may change) working for places like NBAF, or for the USDA, or being a state vet etc. i suppose the next steps for that would be to just cold email people and ask their journey and how they got where they are?

i know i’m a ways away from any major life changing decision, and i’m in no rush to do so haha.

Keep an eye on event flyers and notices at your school too. Often clubs will bring in people to talk about those types of things during your didactic years or there may be emails about things you can’t do *yet* but you can think about for the future and it can give you a contact person to make a connection with. Also don’t underestimate your SDN “family” either, there are a couple USDA employees who lurk and we may know other people too.

 

[vampyrica]

Keep an eye on event flyers and notices at your school too. Often clubs will bring in people to talk about those types of things during your didactic years or there may be emails about things you can’t do *yet* but you can think about for the future and it can give you a contact person to make a connection with. Also don’t underestimate your SDN “family” either, there are a couple USDA employees who lurk and we may know other people too.

sounds good!! thanks jayna

 

[SkiOtter]

Also don’t underestimate your SDN “family” either, there are a couple USDA employees who lurk and we may know other people too.

@britzen (tbh I couldn’t tell you if she’s regularly on here but I can ping her elsewhere) and @Teepster87 are two I know of for sure 😂

 

[JaynaAli]

@britzen (tbh I couldn’t tell you if she’s regularly on here but I can ping her elsewhere) and @Teepster87 are two I know of for sure 😂

There are mooooorrrreeee bahaha.

 

[SkiOtter]

There are mooooorrrreeee bahaha.

I know but those are the ones I could think of immediately 😂 I SUPPOSE ILL TAG @kaydubs I GUESS

 

[SkiOtter]

Also Britzen said that the app stopped letting her log in in 2023 and she gave up trying after that 😂 so she’s effectively dead to the world I guess 😂😂😂😂

 

[britzen]

@britzen (tbh I couldn’t tell you if she’s regularly on here but I can ping her elsewhere) and @Teepster87 are two I know of for sure 😂

I have been resurrected via Snapchat

A lot of vets with MPH backgrounds and interest in One Health end up board certified in the American College of Preventive Medicine. There are a few residencies that lead to ACVPM eligibility, but almost everyone with that specialization takes an alternate pathway to eligibility through work experience. (I've worked for 4 different federal agencies, my experience at all of them counted toward the experience needed to apply.) Info here: https://acvpm.org/

To my understanding, lab animal vets can do a residency, a certified training program, or apply to sit the boards with sufficient work experience. I'm sure there is a lab animal vets on here who can give better details.

You do not need to do an internship for either of those specialties (and I'd argue it would make little sense to do one, especially for ACVPM).

"Research" is too broad a term to pin down for board specialty... you can do research in any specialty. You'd look into board certification related to the type of research you are doing. You would only need to do an internship if the specialty was clinical care related and the residency for it required/preferred an internship.

 

[vampyrica]

I have been resurrected via Snapchat

A lot of vets with MPH backgrounds and interest in One Health end up board certified in the American College of Preventive Medicine. There are a few residencies that lead to ACVPM eligibility, but almost everyone with that specialization takes an alternate pathway to eligibility through work experience. (I've worked for 4 different federal agencies, my experience at all of them counted toward the experience needed to apply.) Info here: https://acvpm.org/

i didn’t know this was a thing!! wow, thank you so much !!

 

[britzen]

i didn’t know this was a thing!! wow, thank you so much !!

Sure thing.

Definitely start looking for externships, clinical rotations, summer gigs geared toward your interests. The path for a clinical specialty like oncology (even if you are doing some research) is different than a public health or lab animal oriented one. If you're still narrowing down your interests, it would be beneficial to try to get exposure to all three areas (oncology, lab animal, one health/public health type stuff).

You're welcome to message me with specific questions on public health / government work and the Preventive Medicine specialty.

 

[battie]

or for the USDA

I know a gal. I can ask if she is cool with me passing on her contact info, or giving her yours, to set up a convo.

✨ Networking ✨

 

[vampyrica]

I know a gal. I can ask if she is cool with me passing on her contact info, or giving her yours, to set up a convo.

✨ Networking ✨

doordashing you an extra fancy coffee next time you need it

if she’s cool with it..i’d be cool with chatting with her 👉🏻👈🏻

 

[battie]

doordashing you an extra fancy coffee next time you need it

if she’s cool with it..i’d be cool with chatting with her 👉🏻👈🏻

You're good, friend ☺️ I'll text her now!

 

[breezywonton]

I also know a vet that works for the USDA in the FSIS. Not sure if that's the area you're looking into, but happy to connect y'all if you're interested. (she's in Ohio tho)

 

[vampyrica]

I also know a vet that works for the USDA in the FSIS. Not sure if that's the area you're looking into, but happy to connect y'all if you're interested. (she's in Ohio tho)

i’d definitely be interested in learning about her job!! keeping my options open (my partner is in the food science industry so i’m sure he’d be thrilled to know im exploring FSIS lol)

 

[Polocrosse2017]

One additional thing is to see if the vet school you go to participates in the Veterinary Scholars Summer Research Program. I did that after first year and it was very helpful! I got one publication that way and a lot of good contacts.